This is the first novel in the mass effect universe, set before the first game in the series. the story takes place just after the rapid exploration of the galaxy, and briefly covers how humans managed this feet in such a short period of time. Human exploration and integration in to the galactic community is in its infancy.

Drew wrote the original games so as you would expect there is no issue with consistency in the universe. It also introduces some of the characters from the first game, a nice touch I thought. I’m always one for wanting to know more about a universe, especially after I had sunk 100+hours into the games.

there were a few disappointing elements. I felt there was an unnecessary romantic story line, if you can call it that, between a couple of the main characters, I didn’t think this had any relevance to the overall story and didn’t add anything to it. most of the characters other than the Spectre came across as a bit wooden and other than the knowledge that Anderson got divorced they were all a bit bland.

This story is definitely geared towards fans of the game, as a stand alone Sci-Fi piece it is OK but as a Mass Effect fan I can categorically say it means so much more!!